Naphtali Epstein

Naphtali Herz Epstein ( August 11, 1782 in Karlsruhe - October 14, 1852 there ) was an actuary and long-time senior clerk of the senior council of the Israelites in Baden .

family

Naphtali Epstein was the son of the Bruchsal regional rabbi Pelta Moses Epstein (* 1745; † 1821) and the violet born Wormser (* 1750; † 1829) from Karlsruhe. Epstein remained a bachelor for life.

Life

In addition to a Talmudic education through private lessons, he also acquired knowledge of the high school subjects of the time . He received a scholarship from the Upper Council of the Israelites of Baden to study at Heidelberg University , where he became the first Jew from Baden to matriculate in the summer semester of 1809 . He took lectures in German, Latin, philosophy and history. After practical experience as an actuary with the city administrations in Bruchsal and Karlsruhe, he was designated as secretary for the senior council. From 1814 he devoted himself to the following tasks, initially part-time and from 1816 full-time: reform of the culture and education system, division of Baden into synagogue and rabbinical districts . He tried to change the political and legal disadvantage of the Jews by writing memoranda to the Grand Duke and the Baden state parliament . The establishment of a public Jewish school system was his greatest success and served as a model for other German states. Epstein remained secretary to the upper council until his death in 1852.

In 1822, Naphtali Epstein and other Karlsruhe Jews founded the Association for the Promotion of Agriculture among the Israelites . The aim of the association was to provide leased goods and equipment so that Jews could learn and work in agriculture.

Naphtali Epstein Association

The Jewish teachers in Baden wanted to express their gratitude with a gift of honor . Epstein refused the proposed sum of money and suggested founding an association to support sick and needy Jewish teachers and their widows in Baden. The Naphtali Epstein Verein (aid organization for Israelite teachers in Baden and their survivors) was founded in 1852. Any Jew could become a member. In 1892 the association had 432 members.

Works

• Most obedient presentation to the high second chamber of the assembly of estates of the Grand Duchy of Baden, regarding the civil and political rights of Baden, the Israelite religion , Karlsruhe and Baden (Verlag der DR Marx'schen Buch- und Kunsthandlung) 1832
• The legal relationships of the public Israelite schools in the Grand Duchy of Baden , 1843

literature

• Jürgen Stude: History of the Jews in Bruchsal . Publications on the history of the city of Bruchsal, vol. 23, Verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher 2007, ISBN 978-3-89735-441-8 , p. 96.
• Carsten Wilke : Naphtali Epstein. In: Jewish Life in Baden 1809 to 2009. 200 Years of the Oberrat der Israeliten Baden , Ostfildern 2009, ISBN 978-3-7995-0827-8 , p. 231.
• Friedrich von Weech :  Epstein, Naphtali . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 158 f.